


Somewhere New

by fenellaevangela



Category: Corpse Bride (2005), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-23
Updated: 2016-06-23
Packaged: 2018-07-16 22:16:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7286776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fenellaevangela/pseuds/fenellaevangela
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emily wakes up somewhere new. Fortunately there's someone there to take her under their wing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Somewhere New

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dreamiflame](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamiflame/gifts).



Emily is only a little disappointed when she opens her eyes.

She hadn’t been expecting any particular thing, per se, but having embraced the Deeper Death and being released from the unfinished business of completing her tragic first wedding, Emily had thought that things would be noticeably and profoundly different. Maybe there wouldn’t _be_ anything at all; she had considered that and decided that would have been fine. She was ready to face that possibility. Except things clearly _were_ , or she wouldn’t have eyes to open.

So, opening her eyes at all is something of a surprise. One might even assume it would be a _pleasant_ surprise, and it was by itself. But what she sees is initially . . . disheartening. 

One of the first differences that Emily had noticed between the Underworld and Upstairs was that while the world of the living had been beautifully and wonderfully bright, even at night – the moon nestled in a blanket of stars– it had had an appearance of unsaturated drabness that was almost mocked by the vast array of vivid colours that made up the world of the dead. These distinct visual landscapes had the unfortunate consequence of closely tying her memories of each place to the way the two worlds looked; the grayscale of Upstairs was where she had been betrayed and heartbroken and murdered, and the kaleidoscope of colour that the Underworld offered was the place where she had received solace, and been allowed to heal and eventually move on.

The land where Deeper Death has brought her is dark and gloomy and grey.

At first she wondered if she was somehow alive again. Really, properly alive – not somewhere new, but back where everything had started. Back where everything had gone all wrong. So yes, she is a little disappointed.

* * *

Halloween Town is _nothing_ like the land of the living.

It isn’t much like the Underworld either, although many of the people appear to be just as dead as Emily’s old friends. The thing is that they don’t appear to have ever been _alive_ ; Emily had never seen a skeleton that was shaped quite like their leader, Jack. And the others – Emily isn’t even sure what the other denizens of Halloween Town are supposed to be. It’s exhilarating! But also very, very overwhelming.

Fortunately, there’s a welcoming committee to make sure she isn’t left to navigate this wondrous new land alone. Sort of.

“We don’t get many visitors,” the patchwork woman says. She had introduced herself as Sally, and is actually the only member of the committee, although she assured Emily that she was officially sanctioned by both the mayor and the Pumpkin King. “And a new person come here to stay? Gosh, I don’t think that’s happened since Mrs. Finkelstein arrived – but the doctor _made_ her.” 

Emily isn’t sure what that means, but she takes it in stride. “And did you, er, give her the tour as well?”

“Oh, no,” says Sally, shaking her head. “No, she didn’t need a tour – she settled in very quickly. Don’t tell Jack I told you, I’ve never actually shown anyone around the town before! You’re my first ever welcoming committee assignment.”

“Well, you’re doing splendidly,” Emily says.

Sally beams. “Thank you! Come this way; I’ll show you the graveyard next. We have some lovely monuments . . .”

Emily has a good feeling about this.


End file.
